


Happy Birthday, Sammy

by Ttttrickster (iscatterthemintimeandspace)



Series: Writer's Club Prompts [9]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Birthdays, Canon Divergence AU, M/M, Prompt Fic, Sad, Someone is already dead, archangel! Gabriel, hunter! Sam, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2019-01-04 20:38:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12176148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iscatterthemintimeandspace/pseuds/Ttttrickster
Summary: Gabriel hated birthdays





	Happy Birthday, Sammy

Gabriel hated birthdays. 

For humans, they were a celebration of life, a commemoration of birth, but for Gabriel, they were just a reminder of mortality. The humans he had loved had each celebrated their birthdays and one by one they died, leaving Gabriel alone. 

He’d tried to stay away from humans after that, sticking instead to his adopted family of pagan deities, but that hadn’t lasted long. Something about humanity kept pulling him in, forcing him to love them against his will. He supposed that was the way his father intended it to be, but that didn’t stop it from being any less cruel. 

With his human lovers, he made excuses. Not understanding was one that worked most of the time, being on “pagan god business” was another. He made it up later, but he couldn’t bring himself to celebrate with them. 

Not until Sam. 

The first year they were together for Sam’s birthday, Gabriel braced himself. His normal excuses wouldn’t work on Sam, Sam would see right through him and he would call him out on his nonsense. He would be forced to celebrate Sam’s birthday, forced to remember that one day, Sam wouldn’t be there to celebrate with him. 

But Sam’s birthday got closer and closer, and no one said anything. Not Castiel, not Dean, not even Sam himself. There were no presents, or cake or cards, not of the usual birthday trappings. It was just another day for the extended Winchester family. 

Finally Gabriel had had enough. His curiosity got the better of him and he had to ask. 

Sam was in the library reading when Gabriel broached the subject. He sat down on the table where Sam had his book propped. 

“So the big day’s coming,” Gabriel said, crossing his arms over his chest with a grin. “What do you want?” 

“What do you mean?” Sam looked up at him.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Your birthday?” 

Sam sighed. “What about it?” 

“Don’t you celebrate or something?” Gabriel asked, watching Sam’s face intently. 

“Or something,” Sam quipped. “It’s no big deal really. I’ve never really celebrated, too old to start now.” he told him. “Now if you’ll excuse me, this case isn’t going to solve itself.” 

Pressed a kiss into Sam’s hair, Gabriel retreated from the library. Something wasn’t quite adding up here. He’d seen Dean celebrate his birthday, but why not Sam? 

Suddenly it hit him like a ton of bricks. Sam didn’t celebrate his birthday because he didn’t think him being born was something worthy of celebrating. 

That was something Gabriel couldn’t accept. 

Sam was wonderful. He was brave, and clever and kind. When it came to saving other people, he never hesitated to do what was necessary. He always saw the best in everyone even if he never saw the best in himself. Gabriel had to do something. 

If it were anyone else, he would have thrown a party, or done something grandiose, he was a trickster after all, even if he was only pretending, and it was in his nature to take things to the next level, but not with Sam. Sam would require a gentle touch where his birthday was concerned, and Gabriel was more than willing to swallow his own discomfort to remind Sam of how amazing he was. 

Books that Sam wanted would appear on his bedside table, his favorite foods appeared in the fridge, the sky would clear itself when he wanted to go out for a run. Small things that he barely noticed to make his day better, and Gabriel noticed the change in his demeanor when he got into bed that night. Even if Sam wouldn’t let him celebrate, Gabriel wanted to make him see how much he loved him. 

It didn’t stop there. On his next birthday, Gabriel kept the monsters at bay so Sam and Dean could spend the day lounging around the bunker. The birthday after that, Gabriel filled the lake they were fishing at with giant perch and bass, worthy of any fisherman’s story. 

It took Sam a couple years to catch on to what was happening, but catch on he did. The night of his thirty eighth birthday, after a perfect day of uninterrupted reading, no monsters, and Dean being mysterious busy so they could have the bunker to themselves, Sam rolled over and pulled Gabriel tightly against him. 

“I know what you’re doing,” he whispered against the shell of Gabriel’s ear. 

“I haven’t done anything,” Gabriel protested, grinning as he buried his face and Sam’s neck. 

Sam kissed his neck. “We haven’t had a hunt anywhere near my birthday in six years, Gabriel,” he said. “No one is that lucky.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Sam held him tighter, and Gabriel could hear the beginnings of tears in his voice. “Thank you.” 

“Happy birthday, Sammy.” 

Gabriel remembered that birthday vividly. Sam never said another word about it, just accepted his small presents with a smile, year after year. His gifts got more practical as Sam got older, a day with their children, a hunt where his bones didn’t ache, one more conversation with his brother, until his birthdays ran out, and there was nothing more he could give. 

Gabriel wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He was so close to breaking down, so close to letting go, But Sam wouldn’t want that. He could almost see Sam’s smile in Heaven, happy surrounded by his family. 

Unfortunately, that was one place Gabriel could never go. 

Gabriel looked down at the graying stone of Sam’s grave, and carefully laid his flowers on it. 

“Happy Birthday, Sammy.”


End file.
